February 13, 2012

Wine Blogging Wednesday #74: Value Sparkling Wine

I read a few wine blogs irregularly and one of them mentioned this monthly event, Wine Blogging Wednesday. I thought I would check it out and as I headed over to the site, I found an aggregator for monthly posts on wine centered around a theme. With the theme for this month very near and dear to my heart "Value Sparkling Wine", how could I not jump in? For goodness sake, everyone knows of my bubbly love. To paraphrase Napoleon, ... you deserve it in victory and you need it in defeat.

Due to my own inclination to support local producers, I thought I would review a Virginian sparkling wine. My first inclination was to review one of my local favorites Horton Sparkling Viognier but a glance in the closet showed that I was all out. A trip to safeway showed they carried quite a few Horton wines but not the sparkling, the wine shop and liquor store didn't help either and with the price point right at $25 maybe I should try something else. The liquor store turned up a bottle of Barboursville Brut for $16.90. Their website describes it as

A classic sparkling wine of distinct Northern Italian influence, the non-vintage Barboursville Brut is estate grown Chardonnay (80%) which has avoided malolactic fermentation and any exposure to oak, and Pinot Noir (20%) from some of our oldest vines. The most honored sparkling wine in the region, a staple on leading wine lists, this is the wine which greets not only every visitor to Palladio Restaurant, but also all guests of The Inn at Little Washington. The growing season does not yield a Chardonnay for the extended winery aging or shelf life of a wine in the Champagne style, but lends itself beautifully to the cultivation of young-harvested sparkling wine grapes destined for vinification in the Prosecco style, of primary and secondary fermentation in stainless steel tank, with generous lees-aging for a brilliant, luscious, and flagrantly romantic palate.

The bubbles are fine and cascade through the middle of the glass not the standard lines of bubbles you get in champagne. The color is light and the nose is appealing. The wine has an initial tart nice with a nice acidity, the finish brings on fruit (I always feel like I am guessing on this but I think hints of apple and pear). It leaves me wanting more.

Read more of my adventures in Virginia Wine Country can be accessed through the links on the Virginia Wineries Page